The warrior DIDIER DROGBA

"I would have loved to have managed Didier Drogba for two reasons."

"I missed him when he played in France at Le Mans – not even in the top league. I knew he was good player there and I missed him."

"And secondly because he hurt us so much in big games that all this pain would not have happened."

"Yes [on whether he has an important off-field role], I think so. Even if the team is young, you can see we have quite a lot of qualities and experience in the game as well.

"I’m here to help but I’m also here to show, if I can say that, to show them the spirit. Even if I don’t have any doubt about their desire to win, I’m here to help and I will give what I can."

"I’m preparing myself to give something extra to the team and achieve what we want to achieve."

The manager also confirmed Didier Drogba will likely be out for a couple of weeks having suffered an ankle injury in training.

"Like every player in the team, he is getting more confidence and we will see what happens in the future."

"He is very important for the young players because what we’re trying to do now [winning titles], he has done it first."

"He is good mentally, he talks to the young players and makes things easier for them and for me also."

"His character is bigger than his body."

"What he did today maybe was because of his character and not because of his body. Let's see the reaction after this but this is what makes players special."

"If I was a kid player and I played with this guy on my side, what more could I wish for? For the kids it must be a privilege and they have to learn by example -- the example the older guys gave today."

Kick wrote:He is doing well, but Costa is far superior.

Drogba on Manc Derby wrote:If both teams could lose tomorrow I’d be happy! Both teams are a threat so a draw for me would be okay. United are still dangerous. I think it is just a matter of time for them to improve and I think they will improve so I expect them to be a threat as well.

"We have more than this result between us. It was a difficult game for him. He had a lot of injured players. We came and wanted to win. We did our job. It's difficult for him, but it doesn't change the fact he was very important for us at Chelsea"

"Of course, that's normal [Chelsea fans singing Di Matteo's name]. The same way they showed support to me when Chelsea played against Galatasaray was the same respect they showed to Roberto and all he did for us."

"I think Chelsea have the chance to say we had great teams in terms of spirit, a machine in terms of hard work and efficiency."

"This one is efficient too, but with the attacking players, the passing rate and quality of passing is higher. We have more creative players, which makes it maybe more better to look at."

"In both ways, the most important thing is to win titles, so this team will only be good if this team wins titles and big trophies. Then we will be able to compare it with previous ones."